Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, July 24, 1918, Image 1
I is ; 7 "The dtars and Stripes Forever." n .A u rn T n n i i i i nnn r-ri ii irr i i n U. S. TO PUT ARMY Of FIVE MILLION 9 MM IN General Foch Enabled to Strike Blow That Has Changed .Whole Trend of War Through Con stantly Increasing Stream of Americans; New Draft Scheme Nearly Completed. Washington, July 23. With probably not much more than 250,00(r American troops engaged in the present battle, but with virtually 1,000,000 others either in France or hastening across the ocean to join in the fight, General Foch has been able to turn the tables on the enemy and strike a blow that has changed the whole trend of the war. Officials .here, while fully recognizing the fact that the . Americans are today only a comparatively "small part of the vast forces, realize that the American army going forward in a constantly increasing stream is the governing factor in restor ing the initiative to the allies. Plans are taking shape to accel erate the American military program. It is practically certain GeneralQ- Foch will have at least 2,000,000 American troops before, the present righting season closes. Secretary Baker announced .that the War de partment's new program embraces en larged army appropriations, modifica tions of the draft ages and plans for a larger mobilization would soon be ready for congress. ' He would give no details, but the plans probably aim at getting under . arms without delay a total force not far short of the 5,000,000 figure dis cussed in congress. ' Need for Haste Increased. The fighting in the Aisne .salient has opened new possibilities. There is increased need for haste, in the opinion' of officials, in getting full ' American nan power -ready to supple ment the efforts that appear now to be taking shape toward . hurling the enemy back along, the front .and be ginning the advance that will ,end only when victory has been achieved. Reports indicated fully one-half of sll ground' won by the Germans in the Aisne salient already has been re covered. . Mr. Baker said the reports from General Pershing were satisfactory. It was clear officials are engrossed in preparations for. offensive battles on an even larger scale. The German offensive arch in France has rested on two great pil lars, one in the Picardy front and he other on the Marne. It has been repeatedly stated that the pressing home of this mighty pincer movement, threatening both Paris and the chan nel ports as it progressed, lias been the German object from the first day fhe battle of 1918 was opened last March. ' .... " , The -southern pillar of that arch has now been gravely weakened. By desperate efforts the Germans are - seeking to prevent it from collapsing. Even if the allied advance is checked now, there appears little likeb'hood the enemy could recreate his tactical posi tion on a basis that would permit him to continue his old plan of campaign before the coming of winter. Allies Have Advantage. The allied reserves on the. Aisne Marne line now have the advantage of interior lines. They occupy a sali ent buttressed on forests and other strong positions which the enemy was unable to break through when in the full strength of his great drive. It appeared possible to some officers ; that the next few days might see an allied assault on both sides of the Picardy front, delivered with the pur pose of forcing German reserves to rush back around the point of the Compiegne salient ' fromthe Aisne theater. If resistance to the allied advance from the Marne becomes too (Continued on Page Two, Column FIto.) Republicans to Consider -Election of a Chairman Washington, July 23. The repub . lican congressional campaign com mitee at a meeting to be held here ,oext week will consider the election of a chairman, it was announced to day. At the same time word was re ceived that Representative Frank P. Woods of Iowa, chairman of . the committee who was defeated for re nomination' recently in a primary, has issued a denial of reports that he intends to resign his chairman ship. Representative Woods, it was learned, plans to leave soon for France. During his absence Repre sentative Julius Kahn of California, vice chairman, will act as head of the committee. "Many Slackers Rounded Up in City on the Coast San Francisco, July 23. The police at midnight last night had rounded up 289 alleged offenders against work or fight" regulations, some of them more than 40 years old, and some Germans and Austrians. All yert held on vagrancy charges, y movie; fans fj . VOL. 48. NO. 81. IX?.' "irhl: IS? OMAHA, WEDNESDAY MORNING, JULY 1 n , THE FIELD OVER 10 0,000 U.S. SOLDIERS ON SEA IN A SINGLE DAY Ships Carrying 35,000 'Men Escorted Safely Through Narrow Passage Where , JJ-Boats Operating, . . , By The Associated Press. Somewhere in England, July 23. A few days ago the naval authorities received a pleasant tribute from the local authorities' of & small city lo cated near the battleship base. , "You may be interested," says the letter, "to knovhow much we think of your men. They are fine gentle manly fellows and always welcome here. On the fourth of July Ameri can sailors had shore leave to visit this . city, which has only 4,000 in habitants. It might perhaps have been antici'pated that the visit of such a great number of holiday-making sailors to such a small town would have resulted in conside'rable trouble to the local authorities, but there was not a singe complaint from any quarter and every citizen of our town was glad they came." , On the business side of the naval operations it may be said that the month of July will show all records broken in the number of American soldiers escorted to Europe and the arrivals have done well despite the efforts of the submarines in many European waters. In a single day recently there were more than 100, 000 American soldiers on the sea at one time all of whom arrived safely. On a recent occasion ships carrying 33,000 Americans were escorted at one time through a narrow passage where U-boats were known to be op erating, but the destroyers and chas ers were so active that not a single attack occurred. Nor was an attack even attempted. WOMAN RIDES FORTY MILES Clad in Overalls Cheyenne Mother Flees With Child From Her Husband ON BUMPERS WITH HER BABY A mother's love for her 3-year-old boy impelled Mrs. Myrtle Neal, Cheyenne, Wyo., to ride 40 miles on the bumpers ..between two box cars on a through freight train with her child in her arms. She arrived in Omaha last night. I Mrs Neal was brought to the po lice station from the Oxford hotel, by detectives, for investigation. She was clad in overalls and jumper, with a man's , cap pulled down over her closely cut hair.,. . According to the young woman, she ca-ight a fast fruit express as it was pulling out of the-yards at Cheyenne Monday morning, and rode between two cars as far as Pine Bluffs, a dis tance of 40 miles. She told police that sbe stuck one of the little fellow's legs inside the waist of her overalls to keep him from falling. A railroad pass brought the strange pair by passenger train here from Pine Bluffs. Fear that her husband. Ledger Neal, would take her boy from her was the reason given by Mrs. Neal for her secret trip to Nebraska. Since their marriage, 8 years ago, Mrs. Neal says her husband has continually been moving from place to place, liring oi sucu a life, she obtained ' re ad vthe bee because it keeps, them posted on the i-i it i m , g mm r- U-BOAT SINKS. FISHING SHIP 0FFU.S. COAST Gloucester Schooner's Crew Reaches Cape Porpoise in Small Boats, After Ship Is Destroyed. Kennebunk Port, Me., July 23. German submarines have struck again off the New England coast. This time the submarine sank with a bomb the crack knockabout Gloucester fishing schooner, Robert and Richard, near Cashe Bank, 65 miles east by south east of Cape Porpoise on the south eastern coast of Maine at 10:30 o'clock Monday morning. This was approxi mately 100 miles north of the spot where a U-boat sank four coal barges off Orleans, Cape Cod, Sunday morn .ing and the time was almost 24 hours later to the minute than the opening of the Cape Cod encounter. The crew of 22 escaped in dories. The first dory containing three men landed here tonight. The men report ed the others not far behind and mo tor boats were sent in search. The first dory men to land said the submarine emerged on their port bow at 10 o'clock Monday morning and fired a warning shot across their bow. The man at the wheel promptly threw the schooner up into the wind. Men from the submarine took the ship's papers and placed a bomb which sent the schooner to the bot tom. Portland, Me., July 23. The coal steamer Snug Harbor arrived tonight with 11 men of the schooner Robert and Richard, including Captain Robert Wharton, of the schooner. Wharton said the second officer of the sub marine who boarded the schooner; told him he had lived in America for a. number of years and had had a slimmer home in Maine since 1896. , ' Dealers Practicing Extortion on Men of Army to Be Exposed Washington, July 23. Few in stances of higher prices having been charged officers than civilians were discovered in a nationwide inquiry, the result of which was announced tonight by Secretary Baker. In cases where the charges of discrimination were found to be borne out, the in quiry developed that higher prices for the most part had been quoted officers on articles of necessity. "At many places no discrimination was found," Secretary Baker said. "At many points there is more or less a tendency to give discounts to sol diers. Instances of discrimination were found, though as a rule not among the best class of dealers." Front of Melchoir's Store Daubed With Yellow Paint The front of Hugo Melchoir's bar ber supplies store, 1112 Farnam street, was daubed with yellow paint about 1:30 o'clock this morning by unidenti fied persons. Melchoir is the man accused of having made a personal profit from discarded Red Cross pack ing cases which he was allowed to use. employment at the Union Pacific shops in the store .dapartment at Cheyenne two months -ago. Trouble between herself and her husband began about three months ago. ' Just before Jiis last trip from home he said when he came back he would take the child and she could do what she pleased, Mrs. Neal told the police. Fearing that he wo-ild carry out his threat, she took the baby boy and left. A telegram, received by the Oniaba chief of police Tuesday .afternoon from the woman's husband, osUfd that she bfe arrested and held on a charge of desertion. Mrs. Neal and Lawrence, the baby boy, stayed in the matron's depart ment at the police station Tuesday night. The young woman,- 25 vears old, is rather slight, dark complex loned, and almost boyish looking in her overalls and jumper. She is proud of the muscles on her arms, developed by heavy trucking. Baby Lawrence is a. fat, round cheeked, jolly kiddie and eeenu "to have inherited a goodly amount of his mothers pluck. Mrs. Neal expects to get work wiping engines in te railroad shops in Omaha. Her mother Lvcs at Scottsville, Art? u lVlAxlA JJA1LI ku r ia i Provisional Head Of Siberia Yields to . Allies' Intervention GENTEJ5AI HOI2.VATH. A Reuter dispatch from Tokio says a special session of the privy coun cil, presided over by the emperor, met .to consider the Siberian question and passed the government's measure for intervention by the allies. An undated dispatch from Vladi vostok received here today says the provisional government submitted to the allies July 15 a request for Joint military action. 'There is every hope," the . dis patch which was sent by Reuter's correspondent adds, ''that tbe situa tion created by the movement of Gen. cral Horvath, the t anti-bolshevik leader, will r be . liquidated and the danger of civil war averted. The at titude of the allies will dominate the situation in eastern Siberia. The status of the provisional government will be liable to modification unless communications are quickly opened." General Horwarth is vice president and general manager of the Chinese Eastern railway. He declared himself premier of a temporary Siberian govr ernment July 10, to 'fight the central powers. Definite Victory Now Fully Guaranteed, Says President of France Paris, July 23. (Havas Agenfiy.) Victor Emmanuel, king of Italy, has sent his heartiest felicitations to President Poincare over the victory along the Marne, which has regained French territory. In answering the king's message, President Poincare points out that it is a double victory in that it has checked the enemy and given the allies a chance to return to the offensive. In closing, he said: "This counter-offensive is for all the allies a new guarantee of definite victory." Street Railway Wage Cases To Be Decided Separately Washington, July . 23. No general order fixing minimum wages and hours, tor street car employes will.be made by the war labor board. Each case will be decided separately. Iowa Aviator Killed. Cedar Rapids, la., July 23. Lt. Richard Ristine, an aviation instruc tor at Gerstner field, Lake Charles, La., was killed in an accident at the field today, according to word re ceived by, his parents here this eve ning. Women Excel in Metal Trades Board Reports; Much Faster Than Men Boston, July 23. Favorable re sults from . the wartime employ ment of women in the metal trades were claimed in a report issued tonight by the national in dustrial conference board. In summarizing informatiqn ob tained from 131 established trades the report said that employers generally commended women as more thorough and conscientious, producing less spoiled work, and being mare careful with tools; Even where the quantity of work produced was less than that of men, the quality frequently was better. Ammunition plant manufactur ers, say women operatives on drill presses and milling machines were, found to be from -25 to 50 per cent faster than men., . General acceptance by employ ers of the principle of equal pay for equal work was indicated. I IL si J r 'ffcv ii I xjN I1 Jkm 11 m 24, 1918 "S-Mir!o wittSuT TWO CENTS. FRENCH TAKE HEIGHT ALONG AVREJALLEY As Allied Troops Continue Drive on Soissons Rheims Salient, Another Blow Is Struck to North. The allied troops on ,the Soissons-Rheims salient con tinue to gain, both on the west ern side of the battle front and on the south along the Marne and toward Rheims, notwith standing the increasing resist ance of the Germans and bad weather. While the latest gains recorded are not as great, on the whole, as those of previous days, they nevertheless have added positions of strategic val ue fi the allied line for the further prbstcution of the efforts to clear the territory of the enemy. More pris oners, guns and war stores have fallen into the hands of the American, French and British troops. The French to the northwest, mid way between Soissons and Amiens, have delivered a blowagainst the German line which has been pro ductive of excellent results. Striking on a front of about four miles they penetrated two miles and gained the heights dominating the valley of the Avre., Fifteen hundred Germans were captured by the French. The official communication issued' by the French war office refers to this fighting as a local operation. Advance Along Ourcq. , Soutfi of" Soissons. tire drive of the Franco-American forces toward Fere-En-Tardenoij .has pushed . further back the Germans on both sides of the Ourcq river. South of the rivet, notwithstanding fierce resistance, the allied forces reached the railroad line between Armentieres and Coincy, run ning southward to Chateau Thierry, and pressed beyond it. This brings the French and American troops rela tively to within seven miles of Fere-En-Tardenois and also gives them a dominating position for big gun play over the eastern section of the rail way line running from Armentieres to Fere-En-Tardenois. On the northern bank of the Mare to the east of Chateau Thierry, the townipf Jautgonne, from which the AmffHfans retreated during the Ger man offensive, has been recaptured (Coutlnard on fge Two, Column Three.) Nebraska Leading in Per Capita Sales of War Savings Stamps Washington, July 23. Sales of war savings and thrift stamps have increased rapidly during July with the result that the total value of these securities placed to date has reached $447,820,970, the Treasurydepartmcnt today announced. 1 Nebraska, according to the detailed figures, is leading in per capita sales with an average of $16.64. The Dis trict of Columbia on that date was second with per capita sales of $7.52. Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana ranked next in the order named. Gernan Newspapers Admit Failure of Hindenbttrg Plan By Associated Press, Washington. July 23. An official dispatch today from Switzerland says the German newspapers not only ad mit that the German offensive has failed, but express fear that General Foch has built up an army of reserves that will enable him . to wrest the offensive from the German high com mand. The ' Frankfurter Zeitung asserts that the entire strategical plan of Hindenburg is 'compromised by the attack on the Aisne-Marne front. "Something .new appears in the strategical situation," says this paper. "General Foch has been able to form an important army of reserves. Focn's attacks aim to deal a blow in the back of Boehm's amy, and should it be successful it might compel this army to retreat under most unfavor able conditions. "Foch's attack threatens the whole of Hindenburg's plans." Ihe btrassburger Post says the public had, in general attached, tool Urcai iiupcs iu iuc4jcrman onensive at Rheims, and asks: "From where do these troops come that the transports have really brought more quickly than they were expected?" lhe Mimchener Neuste Nachncht- en says that r ranee still very screen shows EE ID. mmr GERMANS FORCED INTO THE OPEN BY AMERICAN GUNS Artillery Plays Important Part As Enemy Continues to Fall Back by Destroying Defenses and Ham pering. Movement of Supplies; Four Tanks Cap tured; Allied Airmen Drive Down 37 Planes. - BULLETIN. London, July 24. According to careful estimates war -J, ranting acceptance, says Neuter's correspondent on the French front, the Germans have employed between 60 and 70 divisions since July 15 and have lost 180,000 men killed, wounded and prisoners. A Havas agency dispatch from Paris says that German losses since March 21 are approximately 1,000,000 men. By Associated Press. , . With the American Army on the Aisne-Marne Front, July 23. Information reaching the intelligence bureau of the Amer ican army tonight indicates that the Germans were still continu-, ing their retreat. Far behind their lines they fire by both French and American guns which doubtless is ham pering the movement of their At least at one point the fighting was more nearly in open order than has been usual., With a minimum artillery fire by both sides the Americans advanced their skirmish line over yel low wheat fields, dotted with poppies and through clumps ol wood. It was Indian fighting modernized by machine gun work. ONE MAN KILLED, ANOTHER HURT ;IN AUTO ACCIDENT E. A. Weathers Meet: Instant Death and W. H. Wigton Severe Injuries In Motor Car t Accident. E. A. Weathers. 4408 Capitol ave nue, agent for the Omaha Life Insur ance company, was instantly killed, and W. H. Wigton, 4225 Grand avt- nue, secretary of the same com pany, was seriously injured when Wiffton's automobile unset 11 miles west of Omaha on the Dodge street road last night. Wifeton was taken to the Swedish Mission hospital. , The two men had started on trip to Lincoln in Wigton's automobile. At the place of the accident, whicn was between the two Giant farms, the road had been newly graded and it s thought that a sudden twist of fie steering wheel to escape a rdugh oart of the surface overturned the car. Wigeon is said to have been the driver of the machine, which was m'y slightly damaged. Weathers was 48 years old, and is survived by his wife and 1 1-year -oUl son, Everett, jr. He was formerly employed by the Burgess-Nash err An examination at the hospital showed that Wigton has sustained a badly strained back, with possible other serious injuries. No bones are broken and he will probably recover, Wigton is a brother of Dr. Harrison F. Wigton, 1817 Vinton street. strong; that America has more than half a million soldiers in France, and that the English army has been re constructed and put into a perfect state. It adds-that it will take weeks perhaps to wrest the initiative from General Foch. The Cologne Gazette war corre spondent says never before haye the variegated enemy nationalities pre sented a more solid and . compact front. "The present class of. hostile forces," he adds, "is the most gigantic and terrible conflict of mental and physical energy ever seen. There is no room for platitudes. Now begins the final phase of the war." He asked the people at home "to follow the development of this stu pendous struggle with the gravest at tention, for the enemy is now chal lenging us to put forth our very ut most efforts." Other writers exhort the German people to remember Von Hinden- burg's appeal for patience and his declaration that the battle plans must be allowed time to mature. A fa vorite assertion is that the enemy forces have been sensibly weakened and that Von Hindenburg and Ludendorif wul not allow the initia tive to be wrfcted from their hands. THE WEATHER For Nebraska Showers Wednesday; cooler, in west. Thermometer Keadnc: 5 m. m. a. m. t p. ... .:.8S S p. m...........S4 3 p. m 81 4 p. m , .ST 5 p. m ..M S p. m ...... .M 7 p. m.. ....... ,.83 8 p. m .81 1 m. m.... 8 a. m.... a. m.... 1 a. m.... Jl a. u.... 11 m ....7 ,...7 ....SI are being subjected to heavy enormous supplies. k . O The Germans left on, the field aV great number of machine gunners in nests. Many of these guns were captured, and the entire personnel of a rrlachine gun " company tonight is swelling the already big list of prison ers taken by the Americans. , Capture Four Tanks. The American and French troopj fighting south of Soissons have cap tured four German tanks, which were operating against them in conjunction with the German infantry. The allied -artillery immediately spotted the tanks as they came into action and quickly put four of them out of com mission. Four others retreated. , Northwest of Chateau Thierry tht artillery played an important part. Here the Americans encountered the stiffest resistance, a village in this sec tor being reduced by the American guns, as its occupation by the Ger mans was imminent. The enemy was thus forced into the open, where heavy punishment was inflicted. Ram Falls Over Battle Fields. A drizzling rain fell over the battlt -fields and made aerial operations al mast impossible in the morning, but ,'; it cleared somewhat in the afternoon and the flying men went up. Their work, however, was limited. Late in the day the German planes endeavored to make observations over the Marne, where the enemy was aware that all the usual operations of moving armies and supplies were in progress. The anti-aircraft guns rendered their missions highly doubt ful. Prisoners captured by the Ameri cans say they were forced into action by their officers, who moved behind the lines with pistols, threatening to , shoot the first who faltered. 37 Planes Downed. Faris, July 23. Thirty-seven Ger man airplanes were brought down or put out of action by French and Brit ish airmen yesterday. Four captive balloons were burned and many ton of bombs were dropped on German concentration points. This announce ment is made in the official communi cation issued by .the war "office to- night . ' , , ; London, July 23. The " official . statement of aerial operations issued by the air ministry tonight says: - "In a raid carried out on the after, noon of the 22d instant the main eta- tion of, Offenburg (Baden) .was-hit and bursts were seen on the sidings. One hostile machine -was destroyed. All our machines returned. - "On the night of July 22-23 re peated attacks, attended with good -results, were carried out against the enemy's airdromes. Fires and explo sions were observed. Other targets ; were engaged with bombs and ma- -chine gun fire." Attacks Repulsed, Berlin Report.. Berlin (via London), July 23. The official report tonight says: "There have been local engage ments on the western bank of ? the Avre. f Between Soissons and Rheims the crown prince's army frustrated a strong attack by joint enemy forces." British attacks at many, points are reported in the German official state ment issued today. These, it is de clared, were repulsed. A general slackening m the figlit ing on the Aisne-Marne front is also reported. The Germans say they shot down 52 enemy airplanes yesterday. , Edward A.- Rumely Life Story of Man Who Bought New York Mail for the Kaiser on Page Six of This Issued 1 ..s ,if, jtu,